La Liga Side Celta Vigo Forced To Close 7,500-Seat Section Of Balaídos Stadium

October 23, 2017

La Liga side Celta Vigo's Balaídos stadium "finds itself in the center of a controversy" over Sunday's game between Celta and Atlético Madrid, according to LIBERTAD DIGITAL. A year after a match against Real Madrid was suspended due to a storm that damaged the stadium's roof, "there was a problem with a section of the stands where the safety of fans could not be guaranteed." This resulted in 7,500 fans not being able to attend Sunday's match, "as the tickets for that section had already been sold and there was no way to relocate fans with tickets for the closed section." For this reason, "Celta asked La Liga to suspend the game or play it at Atlético's stadium." La Liga denied "the first request, and Atlético claimed it could not host the game because of construction work" (LIBERTAD DIGITAL, 10/21). The EFE reported Celta President Carlos Mouriño apologized to the fans affected by the closed section and "announced that the club will reimburse them for the tickets." He said, "I begin by apologizing for something out of our control, but that causes you a serious sporting and monetary problem" (SPORT, 10/21).